1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a customizable user interface for searching and selecting files in a network printing system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Network printing systems generally comprise an assemblage of different printers, client computers, servers, and other components connected over a network. A print job is assembled at a client computer and transmitted over the network to a server linked to a variety of printers. The printers may have different printing capabilities. Thus, for a given submitted print job, some printers in the network may not be able to process the print job. To route print jobs through a network printing system, International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) provides Printing Systems Manager (PSM) products that provide centralized and distributed management of a network printing system. The IBM PSM systems manage the flow of print jobs and insure that a print job is routed to a printer that can handle the job.
A print job is comprised of one or more electronically-stored files and the print attributes therefor. The print attributes inform the printer how to process the files. To assemble print jobs, prior art systems include software installed on the client computer that displays a graphical user interface (GUI). Using a mouse, keyboard, etc., the user selects from a menu of options displayed in the GUI the components and print attributes for a print job. The client computer, under control of the installed software, would then create an electronically-stored job ticket based on the information entered by the user.
Job tickets typically only define the print attributes for a single file. However, a document may be comprised of multiple files, each having one or more print attributes. In the prior art, an user putting together a document comprised of multiple files would have to manually keep track of the location of the different files and manually assemble the files for printing. In some instances, a library of print files is maintained.
However, library storage is often inadequate to manage print files because the print files are usually rather large and rapidly consume the available space in the library. In the prior art, to free up space in the library, the user typically manually transfers files from the library to a backup unit. Still further, the user often compresses files removed from the library to the backup unit. Such prior art systems prove cumbersome when the user needs to access a print file in the backup unit because the user must first manually go to the backup location to access the desired print file, decompress the print file, and then relocate the print file to the library. Accumulation of additional print files over time only increases the complexity of the user""s library management responsibilities. Thus, there is a need in the art for network printing systems that eliminate these problems and facilitate the printing of complex documents comprised of multiple files stored throughout the network printing system.
To address the requirements described above, the present invention discloses a method, apparatus, and article of manufacture for building a print job with a customizable search dialog box displayed on a monitor attached to a computer. The displayed search dialog box includes a plurality of search fields and, for each search field, a search operator field and a search value field into which information is entered. Upon receiving a user selectable command as input when the search dialog box is displayed, a customize dialog box is displayed on the monitor. The displayed customize dialog box includes customization fields in which information is entered to modify the display of at least one of the search fields, search operator fields, and search value fields in the search dialog box. The search dialog box is then redrawn in accordance with the information entered in the customization fields and displayed on the monitor. The user can search a database of print files, comprised of data representing graphical images, based on information entered in the search operator and search value fields displayed in the redrawn search dialog box. Information on the located print files is displayed in the search dialog box. A displayed located print file may be added to the print job;
In alternative embodiments, the search dialog box is modified during redrawing by changing a name for a search field displayed in the dialog box, rearranging the order in which the search fields and the corresponding search criteria and search value fields are displayed, inhibiting the display of a search field and the corresponding search criteria and search value fields, and rendering a search field read only, whereby information cannot be entered into the displayed search criteria and search value fields.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved user interface for searching a database of files.
It is a further object of the invention that that the user can customize in real time the display of search fields and other information in the interface.
It is still a further object that the user perform a search immediately after customizing the interface based on the customized display.
It is yet another object that this customizable interface invention be used to locate print files stored in a network printing system, and add located print files to a print job.